Tax Facts You Need to Know

I often get a lot of tax-related questions in my business. Here are the answers to some of the most common queries:

• For how many years do I need to keep tax returns? You should keep your tax returns from 2008, 2007, 2006 and 2005. The IRS will usually only go back three years, and New York State will go back four years. If you practice fraud, they can go back seven years. Fraud entails understating your income by more than 25 percent, or taking fake deductions of more than 25 percent. The State of New York does not have any limitations. After eight years, the IRS destroys their microfilm records. You cannot get a copy of your tax return after eight years. Read more

Tax Issues Shutter H+H

H+H Bagels’ two store locations, including the famed Broadway and West 80th Street shop, were shut down on May 29 because of a tax issue. Earlier that morning, a red sign was placed on the front door of the Broadway branch to inform customers about the closure of the city’s most well known shop, where bagels cost $1.30 a piece. Read more

OUR NANNY TAX PROBLEM

There’s no such thing as an honest mistake in politics, just like there’s no such thing as gender parity when it comes to the scrutiny that candidates face when nominated to powerful positions in government.
Much has been made of the “tax” problems of President Obama’s choice to head the Treasury Department. Tim Geithner failed to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes for a domestic household employee whose legal immigration status lapsed during her employment. Supporters praised his stellar credentials and stints as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and as a senior official of the International Monetary Fund. They insisted it was an “honest mistake.”
Geithner has been confirmed as Secretary of the Treasury (which fined him for his errors). But his “nanny tax” problem reveals the lingering two-tiered litmus test for nominees. Read more